Navigating Greeley’s creative district made easier with wayfinding project

Pam Bricker, executive director of Greeley's Downtown Development Authority, holds out one of the signs that will be used to help residents and visitors learn more about the Creative District on Friday at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The district encompasses an area from downtown to UNC’s campus.

Using her phone, Susan Nelson, director of Market and Community Relations for the University of Northern Colorado, checks current events in the Creative District on Friday on the UNC campus. The wayfinding tools will be posted at crosswalks around the Creative District, and smartphone users will be able to scan the codes to access information.

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Soon, those visiting the Greeley Creative District will be able to find exactly what’s going on at businesses and art venues around them, and they’ll be able to quickly see how to get there — all with just one tap of a smartphone button.

To help residents and visitors learn more about the creative district — an area designated by the state that stretches from downtown to the University of Northern Colorado’s campus — the city, the Downtown Development Authority and the university combined to develop wayfinding tools. Sometime in the next month, signs will be posted at crosswalks around the creative district, and smartphone users will be able to scan the codes to access information, from historical facts about buildings to what pieces of public art are nearby.

“It is a fabulous tool to tell our story,” said Pam Bricker, executive director of Greeley’s DDA and a board member for the creative district.

Creative districts are portions of cities designated by the state as centers of development for arts, business, entertainment and history. The state creative district program, outlined by 2011 legislation, requires that districts be clearly defined for visitors.

Bricker said because Greeley’s is such a large district, stretching as far north as 3rd Street and as far south as the U.S. 34 Bypass, meeting that requirement has been a challenge. She said the wayfinding project will easily let people know when they’re in the district and where its boundaries are.

“If you were visiting our community, you might find your way downtown and have no idea that we have a university just a few blocks away, or vice versa,” Bricker said.

Users may access the website, discovergreeleycreativedistrict.com, by scanning the QR code with a smartphone or by tapping the sign with phones that have “bump” capabilities. Select the “places nearby” option, and from there it will display photos of restaurants, historic sites, art and entertainment venues, shops and even street art. Select a location, and the site will display information on the history and upcoming events for a specific spot.

Users can zero in on the type of establishment they’re seeking using the “filter” option.

The idea for the wayfinding project came from a presentation at a conference Bricker attended. Bricker thought the already-developed technology would be perfect because the city wouldn’t have to start from scratch.

Bricker said the city of Greeley, the DDA and UNC’s College of Visual and Performing Arts all chipped in to cover the $2,000 bill. Interns from UNC worked to collect and input data into the website.

Susan Nelson, director of marketing and community relations for the university’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, said since UNC and Greeley’s downtown are both in the district, it’s important for people to know what each one offers.

“As an individual, I think our community is really, really lucky to have the wonderful back-and-forth between the university and the community and to have the opportunity for world-class arts and entertainment that the university provides,” said Nelson, also a board member for the Greeley Creative District.

Nelson said the wayfinding website provides a great deal of information that will cater to many different types of interests.

“I really like the fact that this is such a robust set of information, that it’s really easy to personalize stuff,” she said. “It’s dining. It’s shopping. It’s entertainment. It’s street art. It’s everything that happens in the district.”

Bricker said the city will have about 45 smartphone-sized signs throughout the district to begin, and those will be cropping up soon. She said the wayfinding tools will be very helpful to tourists who don’t know their way around Greeley, but they also will benefit residents who want to explore their own community.

“Many times, we need to be a tourist in our own town and tune in to what’s going on,” she said. “There’s a whole lot of people in this community that have no idea of all the wonderful things that exist in our district.”